“At least I didn’t leave you with my uncle Chase.” Cain and her uncles had returned home the day after Kerrie and Miranda’s execution, but they had come back to—or, more accurately, snuck back onto—Mercury territory the previous night with two of her other foster uncles. Whereas Sam seemed to like her mate, Chase did nothing but grunt and scowl at him . . . purely to fuck with him.
“No amount of animosity could make me hate your uncles.” The news they had brought on their arrival had shocked the shit out of Derren. At Ally’s request, the males had done some investigating and meddling, and they’d managed to achieve something Derren hadn’t ever imagined would occur: they’d cleared his name.
In Cain’s words, “It was just a matter of putting the right pressure on the right people.” And since the sociopath had also had The Movement backing him, he’d done it quickly too. Despite the false accusation no longer hanging over Derren, he’d had very few apologies from his old pack. His sister had been one of those to contact him, despite her mate’s disbelief. Derren was simply glad to no longer feel the weight of a guilt that didn’t belong to him.
“Oh, look out, here comes the old dragon.” Ally smiled as Jaime, Dante, Dominic, Trick, Ryan, Tao, and Greta approached. Other than the dragon, they all once again congratulated Ally and Derren, making complimentary comments about the ceremony. Well . . . Ryan merely grunted his agreement to the others’ compliments, but still.
Noticing that Trey’s grandmother was sneering at her, Ally arched a brow. “You do realize you can’t kill me with your glare, right?”
Greta narrowed her eyes. “You might have healed my Roni after she was shot, but I still don’t trust you. I’ll never like Seers.” Tao and Trick rolled their eyes.
Tilting her head, Ally studied the woman from head to toe. “I guess Satan appears in all sorts of packages.”
When Jaime laughed, Greta huffed at the Phoenix Beta female. “You find her funny, do you?”
Jaime wagged her finger, leaning back into her mate, who wrapped his arms around her. “Now, now . . . Just because you’re so old the Three Wise Men helped you with your homework doesn’t mean you need to take it out on me.”
Dominic smiled at Ally. “If you were my homework, I’d do you on the table.” Trick yanked him aside before Derren’s fist could connect with the prick’s face.
Tao shook his head at the enforcer. “Dom, why do you want to die?”
“We should get him away before Derren breaks his nose again,” proposed Trick. Grunting, Ryan—who seemed to mostly communicate in grunts—grabbed a laughing Dominic by the back of his shirt while Trick and Tao followed.
Derren was about to suggest to Ally that they leave . . . but then Taryn, Trey, Marcus, and Roni—who had Kye wrapped around her like a boa constrictor—approached.
Greta gazed at Roni adoringly and kissed her on the cheek. “Hi, sweetheart.”
Tightening his grip possessively on Roni’s neck, Kye frowned at his great-grandmother as he firmly stated, “Mine.” The kid loved Roni.
“We know, we know,” Greta gently assured him. “Roni, you look beautiful tonight. Doesn’t she, Marcus?”
Looking awed, Taryn leaned into Roni’s other side and whispered, “Roni, once again I have to ask: How did you do it? How did you get her to like you?”
Planting one hand on her hip, Greta turned a glower on Taryn. “Whispering again? You’re no better than Dante’s sorry excuse for a mate.” Jaime smiled at that while Dante groaned into his mate’s neck.
Taryn sniffed at the dragon. “Easy there, Old Mother Hubbard. You’re just mad because the Wrinkle Fairy did a tap dance on your face again.”
As an argument between Taryn and Greta then commenced, Trey sighed tiredly. He spoke to both Derren and Ally as he said, “You won’t believe it, but my mate and Greta actually like each other.”
Derren cocked his head. “Yeah . . . I don’t believe it.” Done with these crazy people, he whispered into his mate’s ear, “Let’s go home. I want to be alone with you.”
Just as quietly, Ally replied, “We shouldn’t. It’s our party.” But then she smiled. “Yeah, let’s go.”
They kissed, fondled, and laughed all the way back to their lodge. Closing the door behind them, Derren grazed his teeth over his claiming mark. “Finally I have you all to myself.” He doubted he’d ever be okay with sharing her, even as he knew it was both childish and selfish. But he figured he had a right to be at least a little selfish about his mate. “Tonight, I want to take you in our bed. For a change.”
It was true that since they both seemed to have instant-gratification issues when it came to sex, they often didn’t make it to the bed. “Then you’d better let me go.”